NARROWSBURG, N.Y. — The Big Eddy Film Festival is returning to western Sullivan County for its 15th year, bringing independent films, filmmakers and audiences together from September 24 through 27.

Produced by the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, this year’s festival is built around the theme “Stories From the Other Side: Magic, Delight, Outsiders and the Unseen.” The lineup includes narrative films, documentaries, experimental work, locally connected shorts, filmmaker conversations, youth programming and an acting workshop.

Ariel Shanberg, executive director of the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, told Radio Catskill the anniversary gives organizers an opportunity to build on the festival’s history while creating more opportunities for filmmakers to connect with audiences and one another.

“We want to not only honor the incredibly deep roots of the Big Eddy, but expand, lean in more to our commitment to have filmmakers be part of the festival,” Shanberg said.

He said the goal is to create an environment where filmmakers and people interested in the craft can exchange ideas, develop their work and connect directly with audiences.

This year’s theme helped guide organizers toward films centered on transformation, connection and self-discovery.

Shanberg said the program includes stories about people experiencing different forms of change and “becoming,” ideas he described as particularly powerful through cinema.

One of the festival’s marquee selections is “Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu,” featuring longtime comedy collaborators Bob Odenkirk and David Cross.

The film follows the two friends on a journey undertaken after Odenkirk suffered a heart attack while working on “Better Call Saul.” Shanberg described the film as a story about friendship, aging, challenging yourself and the way relationships evolve over time.

The film’s focus on discovery and transformation made it a natural choice for the festival’s opening night, Schanberg said.

The festival is also continuing its emphasis on rural stories through its Rural Imagination Shorts program.

For Shanberg, the idea of “rural” extends beyond the Catskills. Films can transport audiences to farms, remote communities and landscapes around the world while creating connections between people who may live far apart.

“When you have these experiences, it connects us all in a deeper and more meaningful way,” he said.

That focus also includes providing a platform for local filmmakers and local voices.

Beyond the screenings, organizers are emphasizing the communal experience of watching films together.

Shanberg described the Big Eddy as a “community-built film festival,” with screenings and events designed to bring filmmakers and audiences into conversation.

Among the other featured films is Neil LaBute’s “Murderous,” which is scheduled for its U.S. premiere at the festival on Saturday, September 26.

The program also includes “Cookie Queens,” a documentary following Girl Scouts and their efforts to become leading cookie sellers. Schanberg said the range of films and programming is intended to offer something for audiences of different ages and interests.

For Shanberg, part of the appeal remains the simple experience of sitting in a theater with other people.

“There’s nothing better” than hearing an audience gasp or laugh together, he said, calling that shared reaction one of cinema’s most powerful gifts.

The 15th annual Big Eddy Film Festival runs September 24 through September 27, with screenings and events centered in Narrowsburg and around western Sullivan County.